so I will smile, and I'll keep you close
by orange-yarn
Summary: The 100 High School AU, Part 6. "That sounds like the opposite of a problem," you point out, because Jasper has been hopelessly, desperately, and kind of pathetically in love with Octavia Blake since middle school. By all rights, this should be the best day of his life. (Monty POV. Sequel to "now I feel so saturated, oh I'd rather be serrated.")


**Hello, welcome to part 6. This is the Monty POV I've been wanting to do for a while now. The first part has been mostly finished for a couple of weeks now, but I wanted to wait until we had more interaction between Jasper and Monty on the show before writing the second part. Luckily last episode gave us exactly that. :)**

**I think this is maybe the shortest one so far, just a little over a thousand words. Also I totally borrow a line from Adventure Time, haha.**

**Make sure you are reading from the beginning of the series! Here is the order in case you're a new reader. :)**

**1. I can't help the fuss, I'd trade it for quiet (Clarke POV)**

**2. there are answers here, they're just harder to figure out (Bellamy POV)**

**3. I am quiet now, and silence gives you space (Jasper POV)**

**4. was using loneliness, and now it's using me (Clarke POV)**

**5. now I feel so saturated, oh I'd rather be serrated (Octavia POV)**

**And now this one! Links to all other stories are in my profile. **

**Title is from "The Great Divide" by The Mowglis.**

* * *

When you were little - really little, as in, maybe three or four years old - you and Jasper played on the same kiddie soccer team. The way your parents tell it, the the two of you were insta-friends. You might as well have been the only two on the team, since neither of you paid any attention to the other kids, or even the actual game.

That first meeting predates your memory, but you do remember all the seasons since then. You and Jasper played on recreational teams through elementary school, and were even in a travel league for a couple seasons in middle school. You both played Junior Varsity your freshman year, and you were trying out for Varsity this summer. Soccer was the first thing you had in common, but definitely not the last.

In between soccer games there were movie marathons and secret handshakes and a very brief stint in Boy Scouts that ended when Jasper broke his arm and decided camping was the _worst_. There were a couple of years of elaborate prank wars with Clarke, up until she learned to drive, and then there were elaborate plans to get Clarke to drive you places. There were four straight years of partnering up for the science fair, until you both got banned for the explosion last spring. The two of you have gotten into - and out of - trouble more times than you can count. You'd gotten used to close calls.

This summer you finally learned how lucky you've always been - because Jasper could have diedat that party. You thought he was dead, when they pulled him out of the pool, there was blood _everywhere _and he wasn't breathing, not until Bellamy did CPR and Jasper started hacking up water, but even then he wasn't awake.

Jasper didn't wake up for another two weeks, and you barely slept. You didn't even want to go to tryouts, not without him, but your parents made you. It wasn't like you had anything else to do, anyway. They weren't letting visitors in at the hospital, at least not other than family, but Clarke called you twice a day, always to say the same thing. She always called at the exact same times, once in the morning and again in the late afternoon. The routine was its own sort of comforting, because at least you knew what to expect, and when to expect it.

When she called you near midnight, thirteen days after the party, you felt hollow, you felt cold, you feared the worst, until you heard Jasper's voice on the other end, sounding awful but _alive._

"Tell me you made the team," he'd demanded urgently, like your high school athletic career trumped his coma. He never could get his priorities in order. You'd laughed, because otherwise you probably would have started crying.

You didn't talk for long before Clarke took the phone away so Jasper could rest. You promised to visit first thing in the morning, and you were finally able to sleep easily.

It was the first time in two weeks that you didn't have nightmares.

* * *

It's three weeks into the school year, and your routine is pretty much locked down. You and Jasper have exactly the same schedule, except you're in different chemistry classes, on opposite sides of the science wing. Apparently the school isn't taking any chances after last years's science fair explosion. It's not a big deal - your teachers assign the same homework, and you take the same tests, so you can still work together. You're over at his house every weekend anyway, sometimes for school projects, but mostly to play video games or totally mess up Clarke's Netflix recommendations.

Jasper is waiting for you at your locker after third period, his backpack slung over one shoulder and his history textbook tucked under his arm, just like any other morning. The only thing out of the ordinary is his look of sheer panic. You just saw him an hour ago and he was _fine_, so you have no idea what's got him so worked up.

"I have a problem," he tells you, eyes wide and terrified, and puts his hand on your shoulder. He's shaking, just the tiniest bit. "I'm talking code red here, Monty. You have to help me."

"I'll help you," you say, equally serious. Jasper's been kind of jumpy, ever since the accident, but this is unprecedented. He's about half a degree from totally flipping his lid. "What's wrong?"

Jasper's grip on your shoulder tightens. "You know the big chemistry test on Friday?"

"What about it?" you ask, frowning because you have literally no idea where this is going. "Jasper, that class is a cakewalk."

"I know, I know." Jasper waves his free hand dismissively. "That's not the problem." He takes a deep breath, and looks you dead in the eye, and says, "Octavia's coming over to my house to study. Tonight."

You blink. "That sounds like the _opposite _of a problem," you point out, because Jasper has been hopelessly, desperately, and kind of pathetically in love with Octavia Blake since middle school. By all rights, this should be the best day of his life. "I don't know what you want me to do," you say a long moment later, because Jasper is just sort of staring at you.

"I need you to be there," Jasper explains. You try to interject, and tell him that the last thing he needs is a third wheel, but he cuts you off before you can get a word out. "What if I totally embarrass myself, huh? What if I forget how to talk?"

"Jasper-"

"-And what about Clarke?" he presses on, shaking his head repeatedly. "She'll meddle, you know she will. You can run interference, you know? Keep her occupied."

He finally stops rambling, and looks at you pleadingly. "You want me to distract your sister so you can make a love connection with Octavia?"

Jasper wrings his hands and looks concerned. "Is that weird?"

"Yeah," you say, and clap him on the shoulder. "But whatever. Sure. I'll come over after practice."

"Seriously?" Jasper asks, and you nod, shutting your locker and adjusting your backpack. "Thanks, dude. I owe you."

You think of Bellamy Blake, and the hundred different ways he could torture you on the field. He'll do all of those things, and more, if he ever finds out that you helped someone try to make a move on his sister. But Jasper's grinning so wide it probably hurts, and you haven't seen him this happy in months, so you figure it's worth the risk.

* * *

**Next up is another Clarke POV - hers is the main storyline, if that isn't already obvious. Most of the time there will be two other characters between each Clarke POV, but I can't guarantee that will always be the case. I can guarantee that the next part will have Jasper, Monty, and Octavia, and it will also have Bellamy.**

**I want to thank everyone that has been reading so far, and taking the time to review, I appreciate you all! :D**


End file.
